This Time, Angels Lose the Gamble, 5-1 : Baseball: Polonia, who would have scored the tying run in the eighth inning, is thrown out by the Rangers.

It was a small opening, a little mistake in the outfield, but Angel third-base coach Ken Macha pounced on it.

That is the way the Angels have been winning, by running the bases aggressively.

So with the Angels trailing the Texas Rangers by one run with two out in the eighth inning and a light rain falling at Arlington Stadium on Sunday night, Macha gambled. And this time the Angels came up broke, with Luis Polonia out at the plate by three or four steps after trying to score from first when the Rangers momentarily fumbled Ken Oberkfell’s single to right.

The play ended the Angels’ last threat during a 5-1 loss before 24,927. Not many of those fans stayed through a 65-minute rain delay that began after right fielder Ruben Sierra retrieved Oberkfell’s single after it rolled past second baseman Monty Fariss and out of his own reach, then made a strong throw home to get Polonia.

“If the right fielder doesn’t hustle and get that ball, he scores the run,” Macha said. “What’s happened hasn’t been luck, it’s been hustle. We don’t want to stop hustling. We’ve got to keep doing that.”

The night before, Rene Gonzales had scored from second when Ranger center fielder Juan Gonzalez was lackadaisical in retrieving an errant throw after the Rangers tried to catch Gonzales stealing.

Sunday’s play was more of the same, with Macha trying to take advantage of the wet conditions. Interim Manager John Wathan praised Macha’s judgment, as he had the night before. Polonia praised it too.

“It was a good play,” Polonia said. “How many times that we’ve done that play have we been successful? Sometimes you’re going to get caught. This was one of those times.”

What Polonia didn’t expect was the reaction of Rodriguez, who turned to Polonia in anger after Polonia barreled into him to try to jar the ball loose. Polonia turned toward the dugout. But Rodriguez--who had recently sat out several games after getting the worst end of a recent plate collision with Baltimore’s Glenn Davis--turned after him before plate umpire Gary Cederstrom stepped in his path.

Kevin Brown came in from the mound, and Chad Curtis joined the brewing argument from the on-deck circle before both benches and bullpens emptied. No punches were thrown.

“That’s a young man who’s not used to how the game is played yet,” Wathan said of Rodriguez. “If it’s the tying run, you’ve got to go into the plate hard. I’m sure he’ll be talked to by the other side. He’s still learning. What is he, just 20 now?”

Polonia was taken aback too, because he considers Rodriguez a friend.

“I didn’t want to hurt him, I just wanted to see if I could knock the ball down,” Polonia said.

Rodriguez sought Polonia out during the delay and apologized, Polonia said.

“I went crazy,” Rodriguez said. “I lost my mind, and I shouldn’t have done that.”

The long rain delay put an end to the outing of Mark Langston (9-10), as he failed in his third attempt to get his 10th victory. He has lost five of his last six starts.

When the Rangers returned, they took advantage of Angel relievers to score three runs during the eighth.

Brown, who became the first 14-game winner in the major leagues July 11, had lost all three of his starts since. But he held the Angels in check, giving up five hits while tying his personal-best for strikeouts with nine. Brown went eight innings, not returning after the rain delay.

Brown (15-7) became the league’s second 15-game winner. Chicago’s Jack McDowell won his 15th game earlier Sunday.